


Garden

by hinatella, xslytherclawx



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Drabble Collection, F/M, Fluff, Jean-Jacques Leroy/Isabella Yang-centric, Marriage Proposal, pregnancy announcement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-06 09:31:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14053983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hinatella/pseuds/hinatella, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xslytherclawx/pseuds/xslytherclawx
Summary: Two times Isabella Yang and Jean-Jacques Leroy wind up in the same garden.





	1. Chapter 1

There’s a plethora of things that Isabella is absolutely sure of.

She’s sure of the scarily pinpoint, knife-sharp accuracy with which she uses her liquid eyeliner, at how she can pull off a perfect wing even in the backseat of a bumpy car ride, on a road filled with pot holes and crevices and dips and bumps. She’s sure of her childlike ability to cause people to sweat under her puppy-dog gaze and the moue of her lips, to get the things she wants.

She’s sure of her self-confidence, in how she takes no nonsense from the people around her. It’s her intrinsic need to expect the best from herself that bleeds into expecting the absolute best from others.

She’s sure, too, of her ability to empathize, to care for those she’s so close to. It’s always as though she has picked up their heart in her soft hands and placed in into her own chest. She’s amicable too; she prides herself in being able to make quick friends with anyone who crosses her path. And if it’s not quick, if it takes work, she will take a chisel and mallet into her hands and chip away at the plaster filled walls.

Because she’s nothing if not tenacious and stubborn and _obstinate_ and will hold steadfastly to her beliefs with the white knuckled grip of her hands. 

Isabella is unwavering in her beliefs, in a way that settles like a calm blanket over herself.

But as she sits here, on the park bench on this quiet late Friday afternoon, where the air is chilled and the tips of her nose and ears feel cold with frost, she’s kind of nervous. It’s nearing winter and the trees are starting to shed all over the ground, covering the surrounding garden a meter away. She watches the flowers sway with the wind, as if that will help her hands from clamming up around the box she holds in her pocket. And it does, just a bit.

It’s the first garden they’d gone to as kids, where JJ had introduced himself as the next _figure skating legend_ , the next _rock star!_ He’d sworn everyone would come to know his name, and maybe Isabella didn’t believe him at first, but she was drawn in by the fire in his eyes like oxygen, and suddenly, she was along for the ride from that point on.

She’d been there from the beginning, prides herself in being JJ’s number one fan; she’s always on the bleachers when she can be to cheer him on, always a voice of comfort that JJ looks to when the jumps and spins and sequences aren’t going right that day, always always _always_ an ear to lend and a shoulder to lean on and a person to laugh with and share fluff-filled memories with.

It’s their walk through this very garden that made Isabella realize, when she’d looked at JJ through the feathers of her lashes and watched his streetlamp-illuminated face in the dark, that she loved him.

And it’s here that she plans to reaffirm that.

She knows, she _knows_ , that JJ feels the same, knows by the very poorly concealed hints he’s been spilling like water all over her and their friends. Heck, she’s already been integrated into JJ’s family from the tender age of twelve, and they’re quite literally her second family now. They’re just as estatic of the idea of _their Bella!_ being a permanent addition just as everyone else.

She _knows_ , and yet she’s full of nerves. Maybe it’s the prominence of the gesture, and how sudden this might be, or maybe it’s far too early, maybe—maybe it isn’t a good time. They’re barely out of high school, and JJ is working his bones on the ice until they’re ready to shatter like crystals, and there’s still so much left for them to _do_ and and and—

“Isabella!” JJ’s calls from across the garden. He’s panting, red high on his cheeks like he’s sprinted over here for his life. 

Isabella, doesn’t say a word; stands and waits for him to come to her. And as he does, she realizes that all of those fearful voices sounding off an unfounded mantra in the back of her mind means nothing. Because now, as she watches the love of her life place ginger hands around her hips and plant a sweet kiss against her lips, she _knows_ and there’s nothing she’d rather do more than experience life with JJ by her side.

“JJ—” Isabella starts at the same time that JJ says, “I have—”

They stop. Pause. Stare at each other for a moment, then burst the stretched silence bubble with the pinprick of their giggles that sting their cheeks.

“You go first,” Isabella insists. Her heart is beating fast, faster, as she thumbs the small box in her coat pocket. She’s giddy for entirely different reasons, now.

“Okay,” JJ says with a nod. “Okay,” he says again, as he wipes his hand across the pocket of his jeans and rubs his hand over his neck—a nervous habit he’d never been able to break.

Isabella’s heart beats a little faster.

“I wanted to do this as soon as possible because I didn’t want to wait. And we’ll both be busy, yeah? So when you called me out here I figured this is the perfect time to tell you…”

“Tell me what?” Isabella says. She’s getting a little worried now as she bites the corner of her lip.

“Bella,” JJ takes her hand in his, kneels down in front of her, and captures her gaze with his own, conviction-filled one. Isabella blinks once, twice, a thousand times. “You are my sun and stars, the wind beneath my wings, my best and dearest friend and the everpresent light in my life.”

“Oh, my God,” Isabella whispers. She places her free hand against his mouth, too shocked to say anything more.

“You’re my soulmate. I’ve loved you from the moment I met you all those years ago in this very garden, and it blossomed like the flowers here when you asked me to be your boyfriend three years ago, and my love for you continued to grow in the months after.”

“Oh, my _God_ ,” she says again, breathless. Her eyes are starting to water, and she blinks them away.

“I want to continue to be in your life, and continue to love you in the best way I can, and I want to be by your side for as long as we live. Isabella Yang—” JJ pauses to pull a diamond rose gold ring from the pocket of his jeans, and holds it to the light of the setting sun, where it reflects Isabella’s distorted image in it’s iridescent surface. “Will you marry me?”

It’s those words that cause Isabella to burst, an overflowed balloon filled to capacity. Her make-up is going to smudge and she can’t bring herself to care. 

Instead of verbally answering, she digs into her pocket to pull out the box she’s been holding like a two ton weight to her person. JJ fidgets nervously where he’s kneeling—he has no idea what to make of this, rather than a clear cut answer to his heavy question.

Isabella takes JJ’s hand and helps him up, and before he can question her actions, she pops open her box to show the gold band nestled inside. 

At JJ’s gasp, she giggles with mirth. “I was going to ask you first.”

She sure, so sure, absolutely positive, that she’d never want this proposal to happen any other way.


	2. Chapter 2

In the ten years Jean-Jacques Leroy had been with Isabella Yang, he’d only fallen deeper and deeper in love with her. She was passionate and gorgeous and loving and supportive and JJ could not imagine anyone better to spend the rest of his life with.

They had been married for three years when she asked him to take a walk on a beautiful and clear evening. 

They held hands as they walked through Toronto, talking about everything and nothing. After a while, they ended up in a very familiar park: the place where they’d met, where they’d had their very first date, and where they’d gotten engaged.

Isabella led JJ to a bench, and sat down. “Remember the first time we came here together?”

JJ couldn’t help but grin at the memory. “I told you I was the next figure skating legend.”

“And the next rock star,” Isabella added. “And you’ve achieved both of those things.”

JJ felt a swell of pride, but he knew he couldn’t have done it without Isabella by his side. He told her as much: “Without you, though… I wouldn’t have been able to do any of that.”

Isabella blushed and smiled. “Supporting you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”

That was when JJ realised where they were. They had, somehow, stopped at the same spot where they had both planned to propose to each other, at the same time. JJ being the one down on one knee was only due to Isabella letting him go first. It seemed often to JJ that they were on the same wavelength. Isabella was the only person who ever made him feel like that, and it made him feel absolutely overwhelmed with love and adoration for her.

“JJ,” Isabella said, squeezing his hand and bringing him back to the moment at hand. “I have something to tell you.”

JJ felt his stomach flip. So the park and even the  _ bench _ weren’t a happy accident; this had been planned. “O-oh?”

“I thought about how to do this… maybe get you a gift, but… In the end, I thought… the direct way is best.” Isabella’s eyes met his. “We’re going to have a baby.”

JJ knew what those words meant individually, but for a second they didn’t quite make sense in that order. Of course, he and Bella hadn’t been actively  _ trying _ to have a baby – but they’d been willfully lax about birth control, too. They had had sort of been a laissez-faire attitude about it; they felt like they could take care of a baby, but they hadn’t wanted to actively try for a baby until after JJ retired from figure skating.

“I know,” Isabella said, “that this isn’t the best time, but…”

JJ wrapped her in a hug. “Not the best time? It’s a perfect time!”

“But you’re still competing.”

“I’ll retire. After this season is over.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Isabella said.

“But I  _ want _ to.” He let go of her and looked her in the eyes. “I  _ love you _ , Bells. And starting a family with you is  _ everything _ I’ve ever wanted. Maybe it’s a little sooner than we’d have wanted  _ ideally _ , but it’s not like we didn’t know it was a possibility.”

Isabella smiled at him. “My doctor’s appointment is tomorrow afternoon.”

“Perfect!” JJ said. “I’ll come with you! And we can figure out when we’ll tell our parents… we need to get a nursery ready...and I need to tell my parents I’m retiring, too!”

Isabel kissed him. “Why don’t we go to the doctor’s first, hmm?”

* * *

A week later – a week full of excitement and nerves and  _ hearing his baby’s heartbeat for the first time _ – JJ and Isabella went to his parents’ house. Fortunately, it was just the four of them, as all of JJ’s siblings miraculously had somewhere else to be.

That was supposed to be ideal, but it just served to make JJ more nervous. Bella never let go of his hand. They followed his parents out to their garden, and sat down at the table they had.

JJ and Isabella coming to visit wasn’t such a rare occurrence that JJ thought his parents were suspicious, but he still thought it was best to get to the point as soon as possible. He didn’t think his parents would be upset with his decision to retire, but he didn’t want to draw out the conversation.

“Uh, so,” he said during the first possible lull in the conversation. “Bells and I have some news.”

His parents exchanged a look, and JJ had a feeling they knew what he was going to say. After all, he wasn’t the oldest, and he wasn’t the first in his family to have kids.

“What is it, JJ?” his mother asked.

JJ looked to Isabella. Because they were on the same wavelength, she answered for him. “JJ and I are going to have a baby,” she said.

His parents looked at each other for a split second before grinning. “Oh, that’s  _ wonderful! _ Congratulations! And you two will be such good parents!”

“Thank you, both,” JJ said. 

“It means a lot to have you both being so supportive,” Bella added.

“Of course, of course,” JJ’s mother said.

“Will you be getting a nanny?” JJ’s father asked.

JJ looked as Isabella. He was completely convinced of his choice, and he knew that Isabella supported him. “Actually,” he said, “about that…”

“What is it?”

And here came the part that he wasn’t so sure his parents would support. “I’m going to be retiring,” JJ said.

That gave his parents pause. “Well,” his father said after a moment, “that’s your decision.”

“And we support you,” his mother said. “But… are you sure this is something you’ve thought out?”

JJ nodded. “Of course! I always… sort of thought I’d retire when Bella and I started having kids. I want to be there for them all the time, and not have to travel internationally. And… for the first couple of years, at least, I think I want to stay at home. After that, I can look into commentating or coaching if I want to stay in figure skating.”

“If you’re sure,” his mother said. “Coming back after announcing a retirement is…”

“I’m  _ sure _ ,” JJ said. “Actually… I’ve never been so sure of anything. I’ll be twenty-four in July and I’ve had a great career. It’s not like that’s a ridiculously young age to retire. And I want to be able to devote myself fully to my family.”

“Understandable,” his father said. “And if you ever need any help, we’ll be here.”

“Thank you both,” JJ said. He squeezed Isabella’s hand. It felt like a giant weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. 

He and Isabella were going to have a baby. There would be a little tiny baby Leroy-Yang to dote on and care for and JJ couldn’t imagine any better reason to retire.


End file.
